Woman sentenced for sex trafficking girls by 'creating party atmosphere in motels'
08/30/2022 3:34 pm PDT
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (TCD) -- A 44-year-old woman was recently sentenced to just over 17 years in prison for sex trafficking teenage girls throughout Northern California and southern Oregon.
According to the initial news release from the Medford Police Department, on May 10, 2019, at approximately 5:13 a.m., officers responded to a Motel 6 in Medford, Oregon, after learning a 15-year-old female runaway from Modesto, California, was believed to be there. The teen had reportedly been missing since April 29, 2019.
Police said the missing girl was eventually found in the room, along with an 18-year-old female and two other adults from Stockton, California, Lucious James Roy and Dawniel Santangelo.
Upon further investigation, police said detectives concluded that Roy and Santangelo worked together and brought the "missing girl from California to Oregon, provided her with marijuana, and engaged her in prostitution."
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, there were multiple victims. During the trial, evidence suggested that between September 2018 and May 2019, "Santangelo recruited 15-, 16-, and 17-year-old girls to engage in prostitution throughout Northern California and southern Oregon. Santangelo enticed the girls to perform sex acts for strangers by providing alcohol, drugs, and creating a party atmosphere in motels in Stockton and Salinas."
She would reportedly post online ads of the victims and would transport them to truck stops and motels to engage in sexual activities with men for money.
On Monday, Aug. 29, the Attorney’s Office announced that Santangelo was sentenced to 17 years and seven months in prison for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of a child, three counts of sex trafficking a child, and transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert said, "Santangelo’s conduct in this case was egregious. She played an essential part in the conspiracy recruiting the girls with false promises of freedom and fun. Once she reeled them in, she quickly put them to work, exploiting three children over hundreds of miles for over nine months."
According to the Attorney’s Office, Roy pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of a child and was sentenced to 17 years and seven months in prison on April 12, 2021.
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